Worthless
by Digibear
Summary: Seto attends a ballet for a business deal. Who knew that meeting could change his life forever, and Tea's? TeaSeto. Be prepared... This will get intense.
1. Worthless

Note: Hello, everyone! This is my premier work! I plan on it to be a two-shot, and there are reasons why it is rated T. If you think it should be rated M just to be sure, let me know. There is abuse and swearing, but it is limited.

Summary: Seto needs to attend a ballet for a business deal. Who knew that that night would be the turning point of his life, and Tea's? Read as they pummel into a slew of dramatic events that will have you wanting more at the end!

Side Notes:

Ages: Seto, Tea - 24, Mokuba - 16. I don't know if these are accurate enough as far as age difference, but I need them to be these ages in the story.

_Flashback._

Disclaimer: I do not own _Yu-Gi-Oh!_

_

* * *

_

I.

* * *

"Kaiba speaking."

"Hello, Mr. Kaiba, this is Mr. Kenshin. So… you're coming to the meeting tonight, correct?"

Seto furrowed his brows at such a childish question. Of course he was going, "Yes. It is a business deal we're planning, isn't it?"

The voice on the other line sounded light with laughter, "Just checking, Mr. Kaiba."

The young man hung up the phone with frustration. Even some of the most experienced businessmen seemed like mere children sometimes.

The plan for the night was to meet at a ballet. Even though Seto showed much resistance to the idea, he had to keep his relations with Mr. Kenshin in order to further his business. Kaiba then realized that that was why he asked if he was going. How foolish of him; Seto wouldn't back down on anything that would get him further in his business, no matter how boring or irrelevant it sounded. He was already on his way to the theatre. Kaiba amused himself when he thought to himself, _I'll probably even get there before he does._

Going in his normal attire, Seto arrived at the theatre fifteen minutes before the start of the show. His partner was not present yet, which caused him to snort in amusement, so he made his way to the box that he reserved for them. Even though they did not need to be so close to the stage, Seto thought a private area would be necessary.

"Mr. Kaiba!" Seto turned around and greeted his guest: they both shook hands and proceeded to their seats. The lights dimmed shortly after they started to discuss their deal.

Much to Seto's surprise, he really enjoyed the performance. He thought that he was going to have to keep himself awake by pinching his arm, but he actually enjoyed his experience. He was especially transfixed by the prima ballerina. The woman was beautiful, and she was as elegant and graceful as a swan.

To Seto's dismay, the ballet ended too soon, and he was off to discuss business matters with his partner. At dinner, they made an agreement that Mr. Kenshin could build his own small business only if Kaiba Corp. got forty percent of sales. After a long day, Seto went home, thinking of nothing but the beautiful ballerina he saw that night. Call it being out-of-character, but he had an urge to see her again. Something about her was drawing him in, and he hated being this vulnerable. To be sure, he would bring Mokuba along with him. He was only going to see the performance one more time, just to satisfy his… thirst for the woman's beauty. _ Don't get too soft, _he thought to himself. No one would ever know about this infatuation.

No one.

* * *

"Seto, why are you taking me to a stupid ballet?"

"Be quiet, Mokuba, and stop whining like a child."

"I'm not whining, Seto, I asked you a question."

Seto looked at his little brother, who was not so little anymore. His hair was up to his shoulder, and he had grown considerably. His voice was lower, too, but it still had its youthfulness in it. Dressed in black slacks, a navy blue dress shirt and a tie, the teenager scowled, much like Seto did when he was his age. The sixteen-year-old snorted, "And I'm not a kid anymore, Seto."

The two Kaiba brothers were sitting in the limo, one dressed up and the other in his normal attire; they were on their way to the theatre. Seto made it seem important that Mokuba went to the ballet he saw a couple days back, and he finally shut him up by saying, "If _I _enjoyed this ballet, then you will, too."

Mokuba stared at his brother in amazement, not saying anything more.

When they got to the theatre, the two Kaibas made their way to the same box Seto reserved before. Sitting down, Mokuba put his head in his palm, resting his elbow on the armrest, "This better be good, Seto."

The older Kaiba just huffed in return, muttering something about adolescent teenagers. The lights dimmed down.

This time around, Seto noticed that the main ballerina wasn't as graceful as she was the first night he saw her. She was still graceful, but there was something missing that he couldn't point out. Mokuba didn't pay attention at first, but when he saw the main ballerina for the first time, he made an audible gasp, causing a few people to turn their heads. Seto turned to him with one eyebrow raised and whispered harshly,

"You better have a good explanation for that."

Mokuba's mouth was hanging open, and he was pointing at the prima ballerina, "Th-that's…" Seto told him to shush, but he leaned over and whispered back, eyes wide from shock, "Seto… That's Tea."

Seto coughed, causing more people to turn their heads. _That's Gardner? How did I not recognize her? _Kaiba thought to himself that he just didn't look to closely. _She's grown so much, when did she get so… _

_Beautiful?_

_

* * *

_

"Hey, Seto, I'll be right back!"

"Mokuba, where do you think you're going?"

"I'm going to congratulate Tea!" The young teen rushed backstage, and Seto followed behind him. When they got there, they were asked to show their V.I.P. passes, and Seto told them they were the Kaibas. Apparently, the guard didn't need to hear anything else. After going backstage, Mokuba quickly looked around for Tea, and when he found her he ran to go greet her. Tea had her hair in a bun, but she undid it to reveal that her hair was still the length as it was in high school. Her eyes were still that same deep ocean blue, but she had grown a couple inches and now she was almost up to Seto's shoulder. Tea's muscles were toned, and the leggings she wore showed off her physique. She heard her name being called by a young voice,

"Tea!"

Tea turned around and gasped in surprise at the two brothers. She hugged Mokuba and smiled at Seto, who just nodded at her. Tea was delighted to see them after so many years, "Mokuba, you've grown so much! You still remember me?"

The boy laughed a deep laugh, "Of course, I do, Tea! How could I forget you?" She smiled at his sweet words, and he continued, "You were great tonight! Oh, and you won't believe this, but this is Seto's _second _time seeing your show!" He looked back at Seto when he finished and winked at him, and Seto inwardly growled.

Tea looked up at Seto with a small blush and asked him if it was true, and the man replied by saying the first time was strictly for business. The woman smiled again and said her thanks anyways, and Mokuba spoke up,

"Hey, Tea, you should come over for dinner sometime!"

Seto glared at his brother for his rash decisions, "Mokuba, you have to get past me, first."

Mokuba frowned at his brother, and smiled back at Tea, "So will you?"

Tea looked at Seto for an answer, but he just nodded his head in approval. Hesitantly, Tea agreed to go to dinner for Mokuba, "Sure, Mokuba. I'd love to. I'm free tomorrow, so is that okay?"

The younger Kaiba's eyes sparkled, "Well, then, it's settled!" Seto scoffed at his brother's antics, but he secretly liked the fact that the girl was coming to eat with them. It had been six years since they last saw each other, but not much changed. Tea was now living her dream as a dancer, and Kaiba was still a young billionaire. As for appearances, Seto managed to look the same, except slightly more built, and Tea had blossomed into a stunning young lady. Seto himself had trouble keeping his eyes on her too long, which annoyed him to no end.

Gardner broke his train of thought, "Well, I have to get going, guys!"

Mokuba hugged her one more time, and Seto went up to shake her hand. He gave her his congratulations with a hint of edge, "Good job on the performances, Gardner; I was surprised. You were such a klutz in your high school years that I thought you'd never make it big."

Mokuba furrowed his eyebrows at his brother, "Dang, big bro. That's a little low, don't you think?"

Tea just shook his hand firmly and replied sarcastically, "Thank you, Kaiba; I'm so flattered."

The two young adults hesitantly exchanged numbers, and went off to their respective houses.

* * *

"Wow. That was amazing, Seto! You were right: I enjoyed it!"

Seto turned to his little brother and smirked, "Mokuba, you should know by now that I'm always right."

The teenager scowled and looked out the window at the street lights. He hummed a tune to himself, and the atmosphere in the car became peaceful.

* * *

Tea made her way up to her apartment, bag slung over her shoulder. She had a long day, and she was almost grateful to be back home.

Almost.

As soon as she entered her apartment, she was pulled inside and pushed onto the couch.

Tea winced as her head collided with the back of the furniture. She called out to her attacker, "Akutsu, please, not tonight—ah!" The man slapped her cheek to shush her, and he stood before her, giving Tea the full view of him. His hair was brown and messy, and underneath his shaggy hair, Tea could see his sparkling eyes.

He was drunk.

Akutsu was Tea's boyfriend who just moved in with her a couple days back—after the last performance Seto saw her in. She agreed to let him come because he told her that his mom kicked him out to the house. Tea Gardner was one of those people who couldn't say 'no' to the ones she loved.

Wearing a dirty shirt, jeans, and no shoes, Akutsu bent down and yelled in her face, "What the hell, Tea? Don't you know what time it is? You had me worried sick!"

The woman stood back up and balled up her fists, "That doesn't give you any reason to attack me!"

The man hit her again in the stomach, this time even harder, and she fell sideways onto the ground, gasping for air. She was so shocked that she didn't hear Akutsu's reply,

"I don't need a reason, you worthless girl."

* * *

The Kaiba limo drove of the pebble-stone driveway, and the driver let the two boys out. When they got inside, Mokuba thanked Seto again for bringing him to the show.

"Don't mention it, Mokuba," the older Kaiba replied with a nod.

The teenager then jogged up the stairs to get ready for bed, and Seto stalked up after him. He decided that he wasn't going to overwork himself that night, and he went to his room to clock out.

* * *

After Akutsu's assault on his girlfriend, he stalked to the bedroom. When he got to the door, he turned around and said to Tea in a sickly sweet voice, "I love you, darling."

The girl looked seriously hurt, and she had a couple cuts on her body from his nails. Nevertheless, whenever he said those words to her, she felt better again. Not being able to move, she whispered back, "I love you, too."

Akutsu closed the door behind him, and left Tea to sleep on the couch.

The girl couldn't get herself to move for almost ten minutes. She finally was able to push herself off of the piece of furniture and go to the mirror to inspect her wounds. That was when she realized that she had planned a dinner date the next day. Tea wouldn't be able to go with these bruises, so she hurried to her phone and called Seto. After the phone rang a couple times, it went to voicemail. Tea could hardly breathe as she relayed her message to Kaiba,

"I'm sorry, but I can't go to dinner tomorrow. Tell Mokuba I'm sorry."

* * *

The next morning came fast for Seto, and he got up to get ready for work. Taking a shower and dressing up appropriately, he strolled to his office to pick up his briefcase and check his phone. Looking at his phone for any messages, he found that he had one new voicemail. Thinking it was from some business associate, Seto listened to it while walking towards the stairs.

"You have one unheard message. First unheard message," Suddenly Seto heard scratching noises and hard breathing coming from the other line as it played the message. It was Tea's voice, but it didn't sound sweet like it usually did; it sounded raspy, "'I'm sorry, but I can't go to dinner tomorrow. Tell Mokuba I'm sorry.'"

_What the hell? _Seto furrowed his brows and hung up instantly. Her voice sounded uneven and disturbed, so what the heck happened? The older Kaiba was going to work that morning, but he called in that he was going to be late. He decided he had better priorities to attend to, even though he did not like the looks of them. Opening his phone again, he called Tea back. He was going to get an explanation, and fast.

* * *

Tea Gardner had been awake the whole night. She was battered up and bruised to the point where it hurt too much to sleep. She just lied on the couch and watched the blinds on her window glow blue, signaling the start of a new day. The girl slowly started to get a feeling back in her legs, and she shook the pain out of them. She was about to stretch out her shoulders when she heard her phone vibrating. She wearily picked it up, not even checking who it was,

"Hello?" she drawled.

The voice on the other line was firm, "Gardner?"

Tea's mind wasn't fully functioning at the moment, so she asked, "Who is this?"

The voice got a little louder, "Gardner, it's me, Seto!"

"Kaiba? Oh…" the girl then gasped in realization. She had to get out of there before her boyfriend heard who she was talking to. Out of pure willpower, she got up from the couch, went out the door, down the steps and into her car. She was breathing insanely hard and almost crying from the pain.

"Gardner, want to tell me what the hell's going on?"

* * *

"_Wow, my first day in college… It shouldn't be that bad…" Tea was walking on campus, looking up at all of the intricate designs on the buildings. It didn't take long for her to bump into someone, and she fell flat on her butt, dropping all of her books in the process. She facepalmed herself and sighed, I just had to say that, didn't I?_

_The stranger she bumped into didn't fall, and he gave her his hand to help her up. He smiled at her and told her, "Here, let me help you." He started to pick up her stuff, and Tea thanked him. He then gave her a once-over, and asked if she was new there. _

"_Yes, I'm a new student. Sorry for bumping into you…?"_

"_Akutsu. Akutsu Kurosaki. And I'm sorry for not paying attention…"_

"_Tea. Tea Gardner."_

_The two smiled at each other, and Akutsu asked her if she needed help going to her next class. She accepted his offer to help, and slowly got the feeling that college wouldn't be so bad._

_

* * *

_

Tea hesitated before snapping at Seto, "Everything's fine. Don't worry about me, Kaiba."

Seto frowned, "Then why are you in your car?"

Tea gasped and looked around. She saw Seto in an old-looking car at the corner, and she panicked. She hissed into the phone, "What are you doing here?"

Kaiba grunted and replied, "Your message scared the shit out of me. I just wanted to check on you, is that a crime? Get in the car."

"How did you even find my place?"

"I have my resources. Get in."

Tea refused, and her voice sounded weaker, "He'll see me."

Kaiba then got the feeling that something was very wrong, and his thoughts were confirmed when he heard a man shout from where Tea was. He saw a man come out from the apartment and drag Tea out of the car. His eyes widened in shock, and he was about to confront that man when he stopped. _Crap. _

The man had a gun.

Kaiba pulled up from his spot and drove back home, noting to himself that he had to bring a camera next time. He also had a strange feeling that he had seen that man somewhere before.

Thinking up something, he texted Tea's phone, and he threw his phone back into the passenger's seat, furious at how he couldn't do anything to help her back there.

"She left her phone in the car," Seto said firmly, and he heard a sound emitted from his phone that meant the message was sent.

The message was as follows: _GO TO DINNER TONIGHT NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES._

_

* * *

_

The whole day at work, Seto could not stop thinking about Tea. He was stunned to know that she was basically living a double-life. One part of her life was happy: she was able to live her dream as a dancer, and she performed wonderfully. Kaiba could see the passion in her dance, and he was floored when he first saw her. However, the other part of her life was dark. From what he saw, she was deathly scared of her boyfriend, since she even got in the car to talk to him. He could tell that he was massively abusive, and he could tell by his movements that he was a heavy drinker. What confused Seto so much was how Tea could let someone like him in her life. He was furious at the man for even laying a hand on an innocent person like her, and he was furious at Tea for letting him. _She must have a reason, _he thought to himself while he typed hastily, _I don't remember Gardner being a weak person. _ He resumed his work, and hoped that Tea got his text that he sent her. He was positive that she left it in the car, so why wasn't she responding?

* * *

Akutsu came up to Tea, who was making lunch. With no warning, he slapped her in the head, and he grabbed her hair. Then, Akutsu shoved her phone in her face, and all she could see were the black letters of Kaiba's message. Akutsu questioned her, "Who is this? Huh? Are you cheating on me with one of your stupid fans?"

Tea recognized that it was Seto's number, and she was relieved to no end that she didn't set his number into her phone list yet. She could get out of this one, "N-No! It's Mai! She got a new number!"

Akutsu threw her on the ground, much to her dismay, "You're lying to me, Tea."

* * *

"_Tea, let's go out tonight."_

"_Okay, sure!"_

_Tea and Akutsu had recently become inseparable. Akutsu was in the same class as Tea, but he knew the area around the college they were at. Tea didn't get to go to her dream school, but she got into a fairly decent one. The two went on a few dates the next three years, and soon Tea was starting to get the feeling that she loved this man. _

_One day, Akutsu took her to meet his friends, but he took her to a bar. She was shocked, and she questioned him before they got out of the car, "Umm, where are we, Akutsu?"_

"_Just come on, Tea," was all he said before getting out of the car. _

_When they were inside, Tea smelled smoke immediately and saw a bunch of guys in the corner of the bar laughing rudely. They looked over and waved. _

_Tea thought to herself, _These guys are Akutsu's friends? They're drunks!_ Akutsu led her over to them, and he introduced her. They made comments about Tea, and she didn't like much of them. She turned to Akutsu and asked incredulously, "Do you… drink?"_

_He turned to her, "Yeah, why? Is something wrong?"_

_Tea got a bad feeling, but she gave her boyfriend the benefit of the doubt, "Umm, drinking is bad for you…"_

_Akutsu slung his arm around her while he got a drink from his friend, "Don't worry so much, Tea! Have some fun!" And he chugged the beer like a hog. _

_The whole night, Tea played with the salt and pepper on one table while she heard Akutsu and his friends howl and cackle in the background._

_

* * *

_

Akutsu walked to Tea, and she scooted back, protesting,

"Please, believe me! It's Mai! She wants me to come over for dinner because she wants to congratulate me for my performance last night! Akutsu, please!"

Akutsu had his hand up ready to hit her again, but he put his arm down. Tea exhaled a long-held breath, and she slowly got up. Akutsu walked away, rubbing his head from so much pressure. He spoke to Tea as he exited the kitchen, "Fine, just get out, you worthless girl. You have fun now because…" He paused for effect, "You'll be in a world of hurt when you come back."

Tea was breathing heavily, and from relief and dismay, she finally broke down and cried, making sure her boyfriend didn't hear her.

* * *

Getting ready to go to Seto's house, Tea got into the shower to clean herself off. She washed down and then dried herself up with a towel. Choosing to wear a plain shirt, shorts and tennis shoes, she got her purse from the front room and put on make-up to cover some of her bruises. She glanced at her cell phone on the counter, but forgot something,

"My car keys…"

* * *

Seto walked into his house, mind reeling with questions. He was still thinking about what happened that morning, and he was worried about Tea. When Seto walked into the living room, all he saw were maids going in every which direction, and Mokuba was standing somewhere in the room demanding them to make the house spotless for their visitor. Seto smirked at his little brother's actions again, being reminded of how childish Mokuba still was when it came to his high school classmate.

Mokuba didn't see Seto walk in and go up the stairs as he kept yelling, "I want this house spotless, people! Move it, move it, move it!"

* * *

Tea finally found her car keys and drove out of her neighborhood. She made it to the Kaiba residence, and knocked on the door. Mokuba heard her knocking and told everyone to just stop what they're doing. He went to get the door, "I'll get it—huh?"

Mokuba was stopped by his brother's arm, and he looked up, "Seto?"

Seto looked back at him, "Stay put. I'll get the door."

This made Mokuba smirk to himself, and he shooed the maids into the dining room, going with them.

Kaiba went to unlock the door, and when he saw Tea he rushed her in. He pulled her to the side and immediately started interrogating her, "What's going on, Gardner? Tell me, what did he do to you?"

The woman replied with a soft smile, "Nothing, Kaiba."

Seto frowned and crossed his arms, "If this is some sick joke, I'm not buying it. You think I'm stupid?"

"…No."

"Then tell me," Kaiba hissed.

Tea looked away, "Don't worry about it. I thought you didn't care about people inferior to you, anyway."

Seto huffed at her assumption, even though it was true. Nevertheless, couldn't she see that he wanted to help her? He didn't help anyone besides Mokuba and himself. Here he was willingly giving this woman his help, and she wasn't taking it. Fine, she could have it her way, "You know what, fine. I don't."

* * *

The meal they had was awkward. Mokuba did all the talking as he told Tea all about his experiences in junior high and high school.

"Tea, you wouldn't believe how much I was bullied in junior high."

Tea put down her fork, "What? You, Mokuba? No way."

The boy laughed, "Yeah. Seto had to come sometimes to back me up. It was priceless to see those guys' faces when they saw my big bro, right, Seto?"

"Hn."

Mokuba went on to talk about all the girls he had to turn down, the business offers he had at such a young age, and his experiences in dueling.

"I was such a terrible duelist, Tea."

She put down her fork again, "You're kidding!"

Mokuba chuckled and played with his food, "Yeah, but it wasn't my fault I didn't know how to handle a motorcycle."

Tea looked confused, "Card games on motorcycles?"

* * *

The evening turned out better than Tea thought it would, but she didn't keep track of the time. It was late, so she had to hurriedly excuse herself. She said goodbye to Mokuba, and said they should do dinner again. Seto led Tea to the door without saying a word. When she was about to leave, he grabbed her hand, causing her to look back at him. He said to her,

"Be careful, Gardner," and he let go of her hand.

Tea nodded, and went to her car.

When the brunette came home, she discovered that Akutsu had waited for her for over an hour. He shoved her inside and cursed her for being so late. Tea tried to reason with him, but he got so mad just by listening to her voice. Akutsu beat her even harder this time, and she ended up lying on the floor in pain. He told her, "You can't leave this place if you don't have a show!" Punch.

"That's the only time you can leave!"

Slap.

"_Only _time!"

Punch.

"Got that?" He scoffed.

It took a few moments, but Tea nodded, tears streaming down her face. Akutsu went to the bedroom and slammed the door shut, leaving a broken Tea on the floor.

She had had enough.

She needed to get out.

Now.

* * *

"_Hey, Tea… There's something I've wanted to tell you."_

"_What is it, Akutsu?"_

_The two were sitting on a bench in a park. The sakura trees surrendered their petals to the wind as it swirled around their trunks. The grass leaned in one direction, and everything was quite peaceful. _

_Akutsu looked at Tea and he grabbed her hand. As he looked in her eyes, he said, "I love you, Tea."_

_Tea's heart soared, and she flashed a huge smile at him. She immediately threw her arms around him and buried her head in his shoulder, "I love you, too, Akutsu!"_

_Gardner gave a piece of her heart to that man that day. At the time, she was so blinded by her love for him that she looked past all of his faults. Not caring about his drinking habit or about the few times he would playfully hit her. She would've known there was something off about Akutsu, but how would she know? She was new to love and she was blinded by it. _

"_I'll never leave you, Tea."_

"_I'll never leave you, too, Akutsu," Tea hugged him even tighter, "Never."_

_

* * *

_

A few nights after the beating Akutsu gave her, Tea had a show to perform. In those couple days, Tea didn't shower or eat out of fear of Akutsu. He was haunting her, and she was so shocked to be physically and mentally slapped in the face. How could she put herself in this situation? She could have avoided all of this if she had just listened to her conscience.

She went into the bedroom to tell him that she had a show, and the only thing he said was, "Get ready, then, slowpoke."

When Tea started getting dressed, she noticed that every part of her body had cuts and bruises on it.

Akutsu looked at her expression and smirked, "Just cover it up on stage with some make-up."

Tea put on a long sleeved shirt and warm-ups, but her face still looked terrible. Her hair's state matched her face's state: both looked so unhealthy. She decided to leave her face the way it was, mostly because she was in a state where nothing else mattered except her escape.

Getting her bag, Tea looked around to see if Akutsu was following her. When she didn't see him in her closet, she took some clothes with her. Tea made sure not to take too much because Akutsu would figure out she was running away. After she came out of her closet, she went to the bathroom to get a toothbrush. Then, she realized that would give her away, too, so she put it back in its place.

She was definitely not going to the show tonight.

* * *

After Tea left, Akutsu went to take a shower. When he got out, he checked the time on his phone, "Oh, good. I still have some time."

He then went to put on something nice, and he brushed his hair, trying to make it look decent. He still had a faint smell of alcohol on him, but he didn't care.

He got in his car, and he started for the theatre Tea was performing in that night. He smirked to himself as he rubbed the ticket in his hand, "Let's see you dance with all those bruises, cupcake."

* * *

_The smoke in the bar made it look hazy, and you could hear the clinks being made from jugs touching each other. There were a lot of people at the bar, and Akutsu and his friends were the loudest ones there. Their laughs could be heard from outside; they were having a conversation about Tea. _

"_Dude, Akutsu, how did you get yourself a sexy chick like her?"_

"_Easy, dude. She's never fallen in love before. It wasn't that hard; after a couple dates, she loosened up on me," Akutsu grandly answered. He moved his jug around with his fingers._

_One of his other friends asked another question, "But dude, she's so prude. I don't like..." He couldn't finish because he was so drunk he slipped out of his seat. Akutsu and the others hooped and hollered at this, and they didn't even notice that he passed out. _

"_Don't worry, dude," Akutsu drawled, "She's going to hit it big when she starts her dancing career, man. When she gets rich, _I'll_ get rich."_

"_I'll drink to that, man."_

"_Hell, yeah."_

_They all clinked their jugs together, and Akutsu finished with saying, "I got this in the bag. She'll never leave me. Never."_

_Congratulatory shouts could be heard from the sidewalk outside._

_

* * *

_

Seto furrowed his eyebrows. He hadn't heard from Tea ever since their dinner. Was she really that irked that he wanted to help her? Why didn't she want him to help? Fine, he didn't need to help, anyway. Seto told himself to never offer anyone a helping hand again. If no one needed him, then that was fine for him. He didn't need to get so worked up over this; he had better things to do… But, this situation was urgent. Tea needed to get help, and she knew she had to.

Didn't she?

Seto just rubbed his forehead with two fingers, and he read a paper that was in his other hand. Things had to be done, and Seto almost regretted not hauling her out of there as fast as he could. He couldn't stand not being able to do anything, and it pained him to see that Tea didn't even want his help anyway. _I'm trying, aren't I? Can't Gardner see that I'm full-out trying to help her? I'm not as cold-hearted as I was back then when I was a teenager hungry for power. Now that I have all the power I can get, I'm so miserable. I'm trying to be nice, for once; why can't she understand? _Seto slammed his paper on the desk, causing every other paper to fly into the air and float in different directions. He was getting madder by the second, and he got up out of his chair.

Deciding he needed a drink of water, he went to the stairs. He was going down the stairs when he heard the doorbell ring. Going up to the door, he asked who it was. When he didn't get an answer, he swung the door open and was about to scream in that person's face for not answering him. To his surprise, though, it was Tea, and she looked like a wreck.

She was crying nonstop, and she looked up at him, pleading, "Please… Can I please stay here?"

Seto then dropped all of his previous thoughts, and he ushered her inside the house, eyes burning with rage.

* * *

INTERMISSION

* * *

Note: What will happen when Akutsu doesn't see Tea? What is Seto planning to do? Will Tea be all right in the end? So many questions! So, how am I doing so far with my first fanfiction work? Review and let me know what you think! I'm working on the second chapter as you are reading this!

Note 2: Hmm, I believe there was a YuGiOh Abridged reference in this one that I couldn't resist to put in. If you catch it, I'll give you a cookie for being awesome! XD


	2. Peace and Rage

Note: As **mimi2000star** suggested, I have lengthened this story a bit more for you guys, so this will be longer than a double-shot! So sorry that it took me so long to update; I had to reorganize my plot line and whatnot. Hope you enjoy!

Note 2: The Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged reference was when Tea said, "Card games on motorcycles?" I'm surprised not many people got it! But Annie and **CrimsonZero **get cookies for being awesome!

Thank You's: **mimi2000star**, **Soul of AquaBlue**, **browneyes730**, **Vampire with blue eyes**, **5123**, **CrimsonZero**, **Crystalwhirl18**, Eris, Tia Smith, **MadokaKotone**, Annie, and **sidechain**!

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II.

* * *

"Please… Can I please stay here?"

Seto's brain was racking, and he could feel his hair stand on end from anger and hatred. How dare that man do anything to Tea, to anyone? He ushered her into the house, glaring out into the distance before he closed the door behind him. All of Seto's thoughts perished in the flames of anger that he was currently feeling. He would teach that son-of-a-bean-dip-mother-Frito a lesson, and he would not go easy on him.

Kaiba didn't say anything as he led her up the luxurious stairs and down the monstrous hall to the right. He went to the second door on the left, and he opened it for her. It was a bathroom.

"Here. Wash off," was all he said before leading her inside.

"Y-Yeah. Thanks," Tea was still full of anxiety and adrenaline, and Seto could see it in her eyes. Right when he saw her at the door he could smell alcohol and see the dried-up blood on her skin. The stench was so thick one could cut it with a knife. It looked as if she hadn't even cleaned herself for two or three days, and Seto assumed it was because she was too scared to do so. _How in the world did she let this happen to herself? This isn't the girl that I knew back in high school. _

The older Kaiba closed the door and walked back to the stairs, fuming. He was already coming up with a plan to wipe this man from the face of the earth. Where these powerful emotions were coming from, he did not know. For all he was concerned, Seto just wanted to protect Tea from that man by any means possible. Thank goodness he still lived in Domino. Thank goodness he went to see that play. Thank goodness Tea had the guts to go to his house and not anywhere else.

This was the safest place for her, and Seto inwardly held pride in that.

* * *

Tea just found herself with her back leaning on the bathroom door, her bag sliding off her shoulder ever so slightly, and her knees about to give in. With little strength, she pushed off the door with one elbow and put her bag down. The girl then sauntered to the other side of the bathroom, where a bigger-than-normal tub sat on golden feet. As Tea passed a mirror, she turned to inspect her face, almost tearing up at the sight of it. _How could I let this happen to me? How could I be so stupid? _She got to the tub and turned on the water, and her wrists hurt just from spinning the knob_, _"Ouch…" She then tested the water to see if it was warm enough, and then she reached down to plug the drain. Tea wasn't getting out of the bathroom anytime soon.

After she got into the tub, she sighed in relief. Looking up at the intricate designs on the ceiling, she thanked God that she was able to get to Kaiba's house safely and that he let her in without any restraint. Tea noted to thank him later, and went back to relishing the feel of warmth covering her whole body. It felt exquisite; she didn't want to part with it for a long time.

* * *

Tea, finally done with her extremely long bath, got dressed in comfortable navy blue shorts and a simple white tee shirt. After going to the mirror to fix her hair in a bun, she noticed a lot of cuts that still looked pretty bad. Trying her best to clean them up, Tea then picked up her bag and went out of the bathroom. She needed to look for Seto so he could bandage her wounds, so she went down the stairs and into the living room to seek him out.

Suddenly, Tea heard the door open to her left, and she turned around. When the front door opened, she could see Mokuba standing there, looking at her wide-eyed. He instantly spread his lips into a big grin and yelled like he used to, "Tea!" His maturing voice caught Tea off guard as it did before. He walked briskly to her, and suddenly furrowed his brows when he saw the numerous cuts and bruises she had on her body, "Oh my… Tea, what…"

Tea flinched when he voice suddenly got louder, gruff, and more in the tone of a Kaiba, "I need a nurse!"

She looked at him as he led her to a leather couch. His face had such a serious look on it that Tea could only stare back at him in shock. He knelt down beside her and started asking her all these questions like a concerned mother, "What happened, Tea? How did this happen? Who did this to you? Please tell me it wasn't Seto—"

One of the nurses carrying a kit interrupted him, "Mr. Kaiba, I'm here to fix the missus' injuries?"

Mokuba stood back up and stepped back, giving the nurse space to tend to Tea. Eyeing her incredulously, the nurse asked Tea what happened, "Oh, dear, what in the world happened to you?"

Tea looked away, "It's nothing."

The nurse, and Mokuba, stared back at her in obvious disbelief. Tea felt eyes on her, making her even more uncomfortable. How could she tell them that she was just severely beaten by her "significant other," ran away from home and pretty much destroyed her career all in one night? It was all too much for her. The nurse just nodded after seeing her far-off expression, "It's okay, dear. Here, hold out your arm." With that, the talking came to a halt.

* * *

"Umm, sir, you can't sit here."

"Why the hell not?"

"This happens to be my seat, sir—"

"—Does it look like I care?" Akutsu gave the woman a hard stare, and she shrunk back to sit far away from him. He sat in the front row of the theatre, wanting to be close enough to see the beautiful scars on his precious girl's body. He smirked to himself as he shifted comfortably in his seat.

The lights dimmed down, signaling the start of the show. Akutsu smirked again; he was going to enjoy this.

After a few minutes passed, the prima ballerina was supposed to finally show herself in the show. Akutsu awaited her arrival…

But it was not her.

The woman did not have brown hair or blue eyes, but rather black hair and brown eyes. She did not have scars on her skin, for her skin was as pale and clear as the moon.

Akutsu's chest heaved up and down. Why wasn't Tea in the show? She wasn't sick or anything, and he made sure that she was in a condition well enough to let her perform still.

That jerk.

His ears hissed, and he face boiled in anger. Not wanting to watch anymore, he got up, pushed the people's legs to get out of the row, and stomped out of the stadium, taking everyone's attention away from the ballet itself.

Oh, he was going to put on a show, all right.

* * *

Mokuba led Tea upstairs after she got patched up. He walked by her side, eyes still widened, "Tea, this wasn't Seto's fault, right? Tell me it wasn't."

The woman shook her head, and a hard breath that Mokuba didn't even know he was holding escaped from him. He looked ahead as they rounded the right corner once they got upstairs, "…Tea…" He hesitated. Should he ask her? Maybe he shouldn't. He kept silent until they reached a bedroom. Seto had the maids set a guest bedroom up for her, and it wasn't half bad. Tea led herself to the beautiful bed in front of her, and Mokuba left her for a moment to fetch her bag in the bathroom. He came back and set it down by the bed, looking at Tea for any signs of her wanting to talk. When he saw none, Mokuba gave her a half-smile and spoke softly, "Seto's bedroom is right across the hall from you, and I'm at the end of the hallway to the right. If there's anything you need, you can go to either one of our rooms. Oh, and Seto's office is to the right of you if you face your room." With that, Mokuba left the bedroom, leaving Tea to stare at the floor.

Tea, left alone with her thoughts, fell onto the bed and winced when some of her bruises were reminding her that they were still there. She looked up at the white ceiling, pondering the reason why she was so lucky to have people like the Kaiba brothers in her life. All this time, she thought Seto to be hostile and unwilling to help anyone, but now she saw that he was not as bad as she once thought him to be. She closed her eyes, remembering the old days back in Domino High when—

Suddenly, the door opened again, startling the brunette. She sat up quickly, and winced when her stomach ached from the sudden jolt. Tea held it with her arm, and she looked at who was at the door. When she opened her eyes again, all she saw were solid blue eyes staring back at her, "Kaiba!" she gasped.

The man studied her face and stood up, looking her over. Seeing her many bandages, he balled his fists slightly, letting Tea notice his apparent anger. All he did was stare at her, and it made her uncomfortable. His gaze on her pierced through her being, but somehow she felt protected. Seto's anger was not directed at her, it was at Akutsu.

Tea decided to break the intense silence, thanking Kaiba for his hospitality, "Kaiba," she stopped shortly when his eyes flashed to hers, and she could swear she saw a small smirk grace his lips before it retreated, "Thank you."

Seto nodded, trying desperately to control his anger, "It's nothing."

Tea nodded back, and looked out the monstrous windows behind her back. It was getting late, and she decided that she better get to bed. She looked back to Seto, and was surprised to find him settling himself beside her, sitting down on the bed. Tea opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. The man had a fierce look on his face as he stared at the closed door of Tea's room. He must have been extremely pissed at the situation right now. For a moment, Tea regretted putting him in it, "Kaiba, you didn't have to do this for me. I'm sorry."

All she got was silence from the CEO, and she focused all of her attention to the floor. Kaiba's voice startled her again, "Don't tell me what to do, Gardner. I will do what I want." She turned to look at him, and he got up and walked to the door. Tea's face fell, feeling that it was a little unfair that he was being so cold to her after what happened. At least let a girl off for a bit after they've been beaten by another man.

Her thoughts scattered when Seto looked over his shoulder with soft eyes, though. Tea couldn't believe how concerned he looked right then. He whispered loudly enough for her to hear, "I did this because I wanted to."

The door closed, leaving Tea to listen to her own racing heartbeat. Then, she smiled to herself, feeling a fluttering of happiness from within her chest. Tea got under the covers, found a plushy pillow to lay her head on, and went to sleep without any hesitation.

* * *

The door to Tea's apartment busted open, revealing a seething man. His eyes darted back and forth and he screamed, "TEA!" When he didn't hear anyone answer, he ransacked the entire place, throwing furniture and clothes everywhere. His eyes were bloodshot with anger and he veins popped out of his skin. He ran to the safe Tea kept away behind her drawers, and he found it empty.

His eyes stared on, unblinking. He got up and curled his lips, feeling a rush of hatred swallow him. His chest heaved one last time before he screamed to the world, a scream with 'Revenge' written all over it.

Suddenly, something vibrated on the kitchen counter, and Akutsu turned and ran to it. It was Tea's phone, she had left it there. Akutsu guessed that he scared her so badly she left without thinking to take her cell phone back.

Akutsu grinned evilly, "Stupid, stupid girl." He checked Tea's phone, going straight to her messages. He knew it wasn't Mai that told her to come for dinner. She was simply cheating on him. Well, he was going to take care of _that _mistake. Being bold, he decided that he was going to call that number in the morning, bent on finding out exactly who the S.O.B was that took his Tea.

* * *

"_Akutsu, please, stop it!"_

"_What is that, Tea? Are you complaining?"_

_The girl felt a hard slap on her cheek, and she fell to the tile floor, gasping in pain. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she felt a blow to her body. Falling back down again, Tea grasped her sides in pain, "Stop it! Stop it!"_

"Stop it! Stop it!"

Seto heard Tea screaming from his office, and he hurried to her room, almost pushing his chair down. He opened the door quickly to find Tea squirming in her bed. Fueled by anger again, he ran to her bed and shook her awake, "Gardner. Gardner! Wake up!" Mokuba came running in and kneeled down beside Seto.

Tea's eyes jolted open with one more shake, and she took short breaths. Kaiba looked at her sweaty bangs and held her shoulders tighter, "Breathe, Gardner."

The young woman sat silent for a moment, then started crying in her hands. Seto didn't know what to do then, so he looked at Mokuba.

"Put your arm around her shoulder," the younger Kaiba whispered softly, reenacting the motion for him. Seto glared at him, but proceeded to do what he said. Mokuba left to go get water for Tea, leaving the two of them like that for a few minutes.

Seto felt Tea's shoulders move up and down, and he could hear her soft sobs. Only thinking about comforting her, he held one of her hands in his. His body stood stock still at how soft her hands were. They felt like a baby's hands, angelically soft. Why would someone want to damage something so precious? He held it closer to him, and he whispered to Tea, "Gardner, you should get some sleep."

The young woman shook her head, "No… It's too much—"

"Listen to me," Kaiba said sternly, making Tea look at him. He almost crumbled at the forlorn look on her face, but he continued, "I know it's hard. I know what it's like to be treated like this. You just have to learn to deal with it. You're safe right now, so don't wallow in the past."

Even though his words came out bitingly, Seto tried his hardest to convey _some _feeling into them. He wasn't a charming man when it came to words, but he did know what it was like to be beaten. Tea could see he was trying, so she calmed down. Looking at him, then down to his chest, she admitted, "I'm scared."

Kaiba's chest burned with anger for the man that did this to her. She used to be so hardheaded; so determined to take on the world, and now look at her. One look in her eyes and one could tell she felt defeated and worthless. Seto desperately wanted the old Tea back, no matter how irritating she was to him. He needed to hear her stern voice, not this pathetic whimper coming out of her mouth. It drove him insane. _Why did you let this happen to yourself, Gardner? _He thought to himself, looking at her small frame. Her bruised porcelain face, her slender, toned arms, and her chocolate brown hair…

Seto had to admit one thing: Tea was beautiful no matter what state she was in.

Tea Gardner was not worthless at all.

Gulping, he got up and laid her down on the bed, controlling his trembling hands. He had never been this riled up before, especially over a girl. He would have done anything at this point to protect her, to make her feel as safe as possible. When Tea laid back on her pillow, she was about to sit back up in protest, but Seto kissed her forehead as lightly as he could muster. This caused Tea to fall back in shock, blinking many times. Seto then smirked as he checked his watch. It was four in the morning; he might as well just stay up. Sitting at the foot of the bed next to Tea's feet, he put his arm around the bedpost and looked at her with those blue eyes, "Don't be so weak, Gardner; I know you're stronger than that."

The woman looked at him one last time before drifting off to sleep.

Seto sat there for a while, going over today's events in his head. For some reason, he knew that Tea was going to show up at his door one day. Seto wished it so badly he started to think it was going to come true, and to his surprise, it did. As soon as Seto saw Tea, clothes torn and body bruised, he knew he had to protect her with his life. He needed to revive her spark, and his window of opportunity couldn't have been clearer.

A yawn escaped Seto's lips, and he suddenly got very heavy with sleep. Removing his coat, he decided to go back to his room to change before coming back. When he got up to leave, though, he heard a faint, "Where are you going, Seto?"

The CEO froze. Did Gardner just call him by his first name? He turned around and looked at her, and saw that her eyes were closed shut and her mouth was slightly gaping. Tea looked dangerously cute like that.

Seto didn't know what to do: should he answer her, or ignore her? Was she asleep? He just decided to answer; it wasn't going to hurt, "I'm going to my room."

She answered, to his surprise, "Are you coming back, Seto?" His name coming out of her mouth made him shiver.

"Yes, Tea—" he stopped, blinking once. He just said _her _first name. Was this something to really worry about, though? Seto quickly reasoned with himself that it wasn't, so he continued, "I'm just going to change. I'll be right back."

Going into his room, he sat on his bed, tenting his hands and resting on them. His head was reeling with thoughts, and he couldn't think straight. What was this girl doing to him? He went to his drawers to change into a white shirt and boxers, and shook his head to get those nonsense thoughts out of his head. He went back to the room to see Tea sitting up with one arm propping her up. Sighing, he went over to her to tell her he was there and told her to go back to sleep. She laid back on her pillow, and Seto crossed over to the other side of the bed. Slipping under the covers, and making sure there was space between him and Tea, Seto went to sleep.

That was the first time he did not sleep alone.

It wasn't half-bad.

* * *

The sound of a 7 o'clock alarm buzzed incessantly, and an arm shot out of bed to grab it and smash it against a wall. Getting up, the person then groaned. It was time for school.

Mokuba rubbed his eyes, and quickly got up to shower. He got dressed in his school uniform and slung his backpack over his shoulder. Going to say goodbye to Seto, he walked to his office. Mokuba didn't see his brother in there, so he went to close the door.

Suddenly, Seto's cell phone rang. It was on his desk underneath some papers, and Mokuba ran over to it to answer. He didn't want Seto to miss any calls, and since he wasn't in his office, Mokuba knew he crashed last night. He picked up the phone quickly and pressed it to his ear, "Kaiba speaking."

The next thing he heard was the dial tone, and he looked at it in disgust, "Psh. Prank callers this early. The nerve." He silently said a "you're welcome" to Seto, who would have been royally pissed if he picked up the phone.

Unbeknownst to Mokuba, the other person on the line was not a prank caller, but someone dreadfully worse.

* * *

Akutsu smirked to himself, rubbing Tea's phone with his fingers, "I've heard everything I needed to hear."

* * *

Tea slowly stirred in her sleep before slowly sitting up. Her bruises still pained her, so she laid back down. Turning around, she gasped finding Kaiba sleeping beside her. Her first thought was to wake him up in case he was late for work, "Umm… Kaiba?" She slowly reached to shake him, but he spoke before she reached him,

"You're awake."

Tea jumped, surprised at his voice, "Y-Yeah." She watched him turn around in the bed, a little space between them. He stared at her through narrow, tired eyes. To her, he looked handsome.

Seto studied her face before asking, "How do you feel?"

Tea answered, "Better." It was the truth; she felt more relaxed. Continuing, she said, "Will you be late for work?"

Kaiba groggily looked over his shoulder to look at the bedside clock, and turned back, "No. It's nine o'clock. I need to be at work by twelve."

Tea nodded and closed her eyes again, snuggling in the pillow. Kaiba let out a very small smile, but he replaced it with a blank face when Tea looked at him again with sleepy eyes, "What?"

He didn't have an expression on his face when he whispered back, "Nothing." Seto then got up out of the bed and walked to the door. He turned to Tea, "Breakfast will be ready for you when you get up. I'll be in my office. Try not to bother me when I'm working."

Tea turned to him and nodded, and Seto closed the door while she closed her eyes again.

* * *

It was 10:30 when Tea went into Seto's office. She was still in her white shirt and navy blue shorts, and her hair was still in a bun. Seto looked at her with a frown, "I told you not to bother me, Gardner."

"Sorry," Tea said while shrinking back.

Seto noticed this and tried to sound less biting. He really needed the old, feisty Tea back. This was no fun, "What do you need?"

She looked away from him, making him feel a little guilty for snapping at her, "I missed my show last night."

Seto mulled over her words, not knowing what she meant by that, "And?"

"I think I just lost my job. I'm going to go over there to get it back."

"I can do that for you."

Tea looked at Seto in surprise, and she shook her head, "I'm fine, you've done enough for me already."

"Like I said before, Gardner, I'll do what I want."

Suddenly, Tea frowned at him, "I don't need you to do any more for me, Kaiba."

For some odd reason, this made Seto's heart flutter. The old Tea was coming back; he just needed to coax it out a bit more, "Why not?"

"Because," Tea said louder, "I can take care of myself!"

"That's not what you said last night."

Tea flinched at that, and Seto regretted it the moment it came out of his mouth. The young lady hung her head and asked, "What else could I have done?" She then furrowed her eyebrows and stared at Seto, "I did that because I knew I had to get away. There's no way that man is going to run my life anymore! And I don't need you to do the same."

Tea-1, Seto-0.

Seto looked back to his computer, and Tea continued, "I need to go to the theatre to talk to my boss."

Kaiba could only nod, "I'll send a limo for you."

Tea walked up to him, and to both of their surprise, gave him a light kiss on the cheek. She sorrowfully whispered in his ear before leaving, "I'm sorry for being a bother to you." Before she could get away from Kaiba, he grabbed her wrist. Tea turned around to face him, and he said to her,

"There's nothing to be sorry about." And with that he let go of her hand. Tea stared back for a moment before heading out of the room.

* * *

Tea needed to shower before she got ready, so she did just that. While in there, she thought about her last conversation with Seto, wondering why she kissed him. The woman let the water wash over her cuts and bruises, letting it signify how her troubles were also washing away. For some reason, Tea felt that she needed to do it. It was her way of thanking him for everything, and it felt natural for her to do such a thing. Why Tea thought that, she did not know. For one thing, she knew she was safe here; Seto didn't need to tell her that. The way him and his brother comforted her and brought them into their home as if she were family made her smile. Tea felt loved here.

She didn't need someone like Akutsu to run her over. She thought she saw something special in him, so how could he be so cruel to her? Should she go back and talk to him, maybe to get an explanation? She decided that she wasn't going to come to him; he was going to come to her.

And boy, did she have something coming.

Searching through her bad mindlessly, Tea found a nice, white tanktop and solid blue skinny jeans to wear. For shoes, she had a pair of Converse looking sneakers in her bag for after her ballet shows. Looking at herself in the mirror, she thought she ought to have a longer shirt to cover up the bruises on her arms and neck, so she tried to find one. To her dismay, there wasn't a shirt to match her criteria.

Suddenly, she felt something wrap around her shoulders. It was a brown leather jacket. Knowing it was Seto who put it on her, she quietly said, "Thank you," before slipping it on. Since it seemed to be too small for Kaiba, she knew it was Mokuba's.

When Tea turned around, Seto was already almost out of the room. He told her that her limo was at the door already.

"How did he…" Tea questioned out loud. _How did he know I needed this? Was he watching me? _Shrugging it off—but not without a slight blush—she went downstairs and got into the limo.

* * *

After Tea left, all Seto could do was lean back in his chair and stare at his computer. _You're getting soft, _he kept thinking to himself. Something in him changed yesterday. It wasn't just because of his taking care of Tea, or his comforting and sleeping with her—it was because he couldn't get over the way she said his name last night. Even though he had told himself that it wasn't a big deal, it was. The way it made him feel lightheaded was bothering him, and he couldn't get the thought out of his mind. Tea was driving him crazy, especially after what just happened. If that were any other woman that kissed him, he would've told them to get out of his office and slam the door in their face. Instead, he felt like he needed more than just a peck on the cheek.

Suddenly, something vibrated on the other side of his desk. As Seto looked, he realized it was his phone. Instead of answering it, he finally went back to typing on his computer. He couldn't let Tea get in the way of his work. There was too much to be done.

* * *

Akutsu cut yet another person as he sped down the street, hands gripped onto the wheel. He was on his way to the Kaiba mansion, and he was just about to pull up to its street when he saw a limo with the Kaiba Corp. symbol on it. Inside, he saw the faint outline of a woman, and at once he knew it was Tea.

Grinning devilishly, he knew his plan was going to work out better than he thought it would, "There you are, you little slut."

* * *

As if it was nagging him, Seto's phone vibrated again. Annoyed, he picked it up and hung up right afterwards. How dare these people. He knew they were only telemarketers, and those annoyed the hell out of him. Looking through his calls to see if anyone worth talking to (Mokuba) was trying to call him, he spotted a number that made his skin crawl.

Tea called him at 7:30 in the morning, and it wasn't a missed call.

"Oh. Shit," Kaiba grabbed his coat and dashed out of the house.

* * *

INTERMISSION II

* * *

Note: Whew! Intense, I tell you! Oh, I got the phrase "son-of-a-bean-dip-mother-Frito" from my older cousin. :P

Note 2: Tell me what you think! Guys, if I don't get any reviews, I'm going to think you guys don't want me to continue... Do you?


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